Return of the blind swordsman
by Omnisentinel
Summary: Kagura and Naraku lurk under cover of darkness and resurrect the blind swordsman, Mekura. The two demons attempt to control him and fail. Inuyasha and Sango find Mekura's grave empty, they quickly begin searching for him.
1. Reanimation

Title: Return of the blind demon slayer.

By: EVL5011

AN: After much deliberation, I've decided to write the continuation to "...only human." Why? you may ask, two reasons. First, I had a good amount of reviews on the first one. And second, I just had to develop the relationship between Mekura and Sango. A few people actually commented on the previous story not having any real romance between them. How come? Because I'm not used to writing romance. I'm more used to senseless violence and gore, I guess I have to broden my horizons. Enjoy the story!

E-mail: Omnipotentevil5011yahoo.com

Chapter 1: Resurrection

A week hadn't passed after the death of Mekura, the blind demon slayer. The demon slayer was only eighteen years old when he died. His body received an inconceivable amount of wounds and injuries, before finally dying in Sango's arms. Mekura's body was buried at his village alongside with his fallen friends and family. Sango, the female demon slayer, had remained silent for days. She hid her emotions from Inuyasha and the others. Sango had not yet recovered emotionally from her loss. For many nights she would sit outside and stare at the moon, with a beautifully crafted black onyx sword, the sword that had slain countless demons.

Unknown to Sango and the others, in cover of darkness, Kagura and a puppet of Naraku were standing over the grave of Mekura. Kagura waved her magical fan across the grave, "dance of the dead…" she muttered. The evil wind sorceress and Naraku's puppet moved a few inches away, a dirt covered hand burst out of the soft soil and gradually pulled itself out from beneath the ground. Mekura's body was partially draped in a dirty white cloth. The thin armor that protected his torso had been removed. He only wore the tattered pants he died in and the cloth that he was wrapped in. Mekura stood before two of the most evil demons he would ever encounter.

"So this is the demon slayer that managed to injure you?" asked Naraku. The half demon glanced at Mekura and then at Kagura, "I find it hard to believe that his clan fought skillfully even after death. You do know what will happen if you're wrong about his fighting ability?"

"Believe me, he fought like no other person I've seen before. He was blind, but he fought with such skill that I strongly believe that Inuyasha and the others would be no match for him." Kagura felt confident that by reanimating Mekura, like they did Kohaku, that he would easily kill Inuyasha and the others.

Naraku approached Mekura and began to rejuvenate his decomposing body. A black mist surrounded Mekura and began to seal the open wounds. The dirt and worms fell off of his body, and was completely healed in a matter of minutes. Naraku then withdrew his hand from beneath the baboon hide. He held in his hand two small shards of the shikkon jewel. Using his powers he magically inserted the shards deep within Mekura's heart. The lifeless organ began to fill with blood and his heart began to beat once more.

"Do you know where you are?" Naraku asked into Mekura's ear, but the demon slayer remained still. "I might have to bring back his memories. Something is strange about him, he is resisting my control." thought Naraku. The evil hanyou placed his hand near Mekura's forehead and noticed a bizarre reaction. Mekura raised his head high and began to sniff the air.

"What's he doing?" asked Naraku, but before Kagura could even answer him, Mekura's fist found itself lodged deep with Naraku's face. Mekura removed his fist from the puppets head, the puppet burst into ash and disappeared, with his fist covered in blood he turned to Kagura.

"That's not possible…" Kagura drew her fan and was about to attack Mekura, when the revived slayer glanced at her with his unseeing eyes. She waved her fan across the air and launched an attack. Mekura instinctively leapt into the air and landed behind Kagura. She turned around and found herself staring the slayer in the eyes.

"Obey me!" she used her magic in hopes that she could control Mekura, but found the slayer reluctant to submit, " Its impossible, no one can have a will that strong!" She pulled out a small feather and retreated. She looked down at Mekura and knew that Naraku wouldn't be pleased with the turn of events. Kagura would have to wait for the right time to retrieve the two shards buried within Mekura's heart.

Mekura stood alone in the middle of the large graveyard, all of his memories had not fully returned to him. He listened to the environment around him and began to walk blindly across the land. Some unknown instinct or force was telling him to walk. He began walking towards Lady Kaede's village and faded away into the thick fog covering the hidden village.

The following morning, Sango opened her eyes and stared aimlessly at the ceiling of the small house. She got out of bed and got dressed, as she put on her clothing she stared at something leaning against the wall. She had her eyes fixed on a black onyx sword, it appeared to call her, and Sango walked over to the katana and picked it up. She pulled the sword out slowly and admired the craftsmanship. She sighed quietly and placed the sword underneath her arm. Just as she exited the small house, Inuyasha greeted her.

"Why don't you go visit his grave? It'll make you feel better." Asked Inuyasha, the hanyou was gravely concerned for her. She hadn't spoken to anyone since that fateful day.

Sango looked up at Inuyasha and reluctantly nodded her head. She felt ready to accept the harsh reality and was prepared to leave Mekura's weapon at his grave. Inuyasha asked Sango to wait a few minutes while he tell the others. It only took the hanyou two minutes to speak with Miroku and Lady Kaede. Inuyasha and Sango both left the village and began their long journey.

After traveling for hours, they finally arrived at the abandoned village, and found that Mekura's grave had been disturbed. "Who could of done such a thing?" Sango dropped down on her knees and examined the ground. She found the footprints of three people, Sango would soon find out what had happened.

"I think I know…I smell the stench of Kagura, Naraku and someone else. I don't recognize the third person, his scent reeks of Naraku's magic." Replied Inuyasha. Suddenly Inuyasha knew how the third person was. He began removing the dirt at an incredible speed and froze when he finally found the grave empty.

"You don't think…" Sango knew what Kagura and Naraku had done. She looked at the faint footprints and noticed that two of them had just disappeared. One set of footprints remained, if they had revived Mekura why didn't he leave with them?

Inuyasha and Sango both decided to follow the footprints and left the large burial site. They ventured across the land following the peculiar scent and footprints. They found that the trial lead them across a large wasteland. The terrain was rumored to be the hunting grounds for many demons.

"Where could he be headed?" Inuyasha looked around trying to figure out if it was in fact Mekura they were pursuing. "If it is Mekura, why the hell would he travel in this direction?"

"Maybe he doesn't know where he's going." Replied Sango.

Inuyasha lead the way, following the strong scent of demon magic. The two entered the dangerous wasteland, both not knowing what they'll encounter, and came upon the skeletal remains of men and women. Sango looked up at the sky and noticed black clouds hovering over the vast wasteland. It was an unsettling sight, the black clouds swallowed the morning sun, and they pressed on.

"I wonder what kind of demons roam this miserable area." Inuyasha couldn't begin to imagine the creatures that lurked in the shadows. Focusing his attention on the fading scent, another smell caught Inuyasha's attention. He stopped and looked around, whatever it was it was strong.

"What do you smell?" asked Sango.

Inuyasha inhaled the strong scent and felt certain of what he smelled, "blood." He replied. Inuyasha ran towards the across the muddy ground and through a small area covered with dead trees. He and Sango came to a halt, before them lay three dead demons. The creatures had been killed by what appeared to be a crude axe. The weapon was made of a sharpened stone, a dirty white cloth and a large piece of lumber.

Inuyasha knelt down and picked up the weapon, smelling it, "We're on the right trial."

"You mean to tell me that Mekura came through here?" asked Sango. She felt relieved knowing that it wasn't him lying on the ground dead.

"Not only that, but this happened a short while ago. The blood hasn't even had enough time to dry." Inuyasha dropped the weapon on the ground and continued following what they hoped was Mekura's scent.

Inuyasha and Sango finally came to a large hole in the earth and were certain that the trail ended there. They both dropped down ten feet and landed on the moist ground. It appeared that someone was definitely down there. Sango and Inuyasha walked quietly into a small tunnel and heard the faint voice of someone talking.

Sango listened carefully to the voice and recognized the voice instantly, "Its him!" she ran past Inuyasha and dashed through the narrow tunnel. In the distance was the shadow of someone, the person was huddled up against a corner, and was muttering incoherently.

"Sango wait!" shouted Inuyasha as he finally caught up to her. They both stood there, staring at the persons back, "Is it him?" Inuyasha whispered.

Sango walked closer and placed her hand on the persons shoulder, "Mekura? Is that really you?" The person stopped talking and raised his head up and could be heard sniffing the air. The person lowered his head and whispered.

"L-Lotus flowers?" the person placed his hands over his head and trembled. He could be heard weeping quietly and then muttered something else, "I-It can't be…"

"Its me, Sango. Inuyasha is here too!" she removed his bloodied hands off from over his head and turned him around. Mekura's eyes had tears running down his cheeks as he stared blindly into her beautiful eyes. Mekura placed his hand on Sango's cheek and fell back. He appeared to have suffered some injuries from killing the three demons.

Inuyasha and Sango picked him up and walked out from the dark confined space. They left the wastelands and journeyed back to Lady Kaede's village. Mekura had remained had fallen into a deep sleep. Sango and Inuyasha arrived at the village and tended to his wounds, no one was quite sure how to take Mekura's appearance. Inuyasha and Sango both walked outside and spoke, as Lady Kaede treated the wounds on Mekura's back and chest.

"Sango, I know that you must feel overjoyed, but if Naraku and Kagura had anything to do with him being alive again. You know all to well that there's a reason for them bringing him back." Inuyasha thought carefully about what he was telling Sango, "One thing concerns me though, why did he venture so far away from his village? And why wasn't Kagura or Naraku with him?"

"Maybe, he escaped from Naraku and Kagura." Replied Sango. "If he was under Naraku's control, why didn't he just come here first and kill us?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that we'll soon find out." Inuyasha walked back inside with Sango and they both sat down beside Mekura. The two of them wanted to be there when he'd finally wake up.

AN: Chapter two will be up soon, so don't worry about the wait. It might just be up in less than two days.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Return of the blind swordsman

By: EVL5011

E-Mail: Omnipotentevil5011yahoo.com

Chapter 2: Reunion

Everything was pitch black, the cries and pleas of unknown people could be heard all around, and I could feel some invisible creatures biting and tearing at my flesh. I thought that I had escaped this hellish nightmare, but here I am again. The same foul stench was in the air, that of burning flesh and blood, why am I here? The sounds of countless faceless people suddenly became silent. I felt something staring me in the face, it began to breath directly into my face, I could hear it begin to open its mouth and speak. The small invisible creatures stopped biting me and could be heard scurrying away.

"Mekura…you thought that you could escape us? How inconsiderate of me, you can't see who I am!" chuckled the mysterious person.

"That voice, I recognize that voice, it can't be. You're dead!" Mekura felt a cold chill run down his back. The faceless creature placed its large rough hand over Mekura's eyes, and suddenly a bright light overwhelmed him, he could see with his new sense of sight. He focused his eyes on the creature in front of him and found himself facing the Hell-Spawn Lizard.

"How does it feel to stare your tormentor in the eyes?" asked the demon.

Mekura began looking around at his environment and found the sights to be horrifying. His arms and legs were shackled to large chains. From what he could see, he was in the underworld. The Hell-Spawn Lizard's face was blistered and burned by the fire around them. The large demon grabbed Mekura by the throat and drew his face closer to him.

"Not even a hello?" asked the large scaly demon while giving a twisted smile.

"What hell is this?" Mekura struggled to break free of the powerful demons grasp, but found his restraints holding him tightly in place.

"That's exactly where you're at…hell! I don't know how you escaped the first time, but this time you're here to stay!" The large demon raised his claw high into the air and thrust it deep into Mekura's gut. The warm blood spilled onto the hot ground and sizzled. "I going to enjoy tearing you apart for all of eternity!" smiled the demon. The evil creature twisted his claws inside of Mekura's gut and playfully tugged at his intestines while smiling.

"ARRGGGHHHH!" screamed Mekura, suddenly as his pain became increasingly more intense he could hear a faint female voice calling his name.

"Mekura…wake up!" it sounded so familiar and it repeated, but only louder and much more clearer. "Mekura! Wake up!"

Mekura woke up screaming in a cold sweat. His sight was gone and he could hear the familiar voice of someone talking to him, "Mekura, you were having a nightmare. Do you know who I am?" asked the female voice.

"S-Sango? Is that you?" Mekura asked. He suddenly felt the female embrace him tightly.

"Yes, it me…you were having a nightmare." Sango replied. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know…you said that I was having a nightmare?" Mekura placed his arms around Sango and hugged her tightly against his chest. "It all seemed so real, I dreamt that I had died, was brought back, and died again. Please tell me that it was nightmare and that none of it happened."

Sango released her gentle embrace and knew that she would have to tell the blind swordsman the truth, "Mekura, we found you yesterday. You were traveling through a wasteland. Do you remember anything?" she asked. Before he could even reply Inuyasha walked in and found Mekura awake.

With his keen senses, Mekura knew who had entered the small house. Mekura released Sango and got out of bed. He stood upright and noticed that they were the only three in the room, "Can someone please tell me what's going on?" he asked.

Sango and Inuyasha found it difficult to tell Mekura about what they believed had happened to him. Inuyasha asked Mekura to sit back down and explained everything to him. They told him about how he died and how Naraku or Kagura or possibly both might have revived him. Mekura took the news hard and leaned back against the wall.

"So, it wasn't a nightmare after all, I did really die and go to hell. One thing I don't understand is why did Naraku and Kagura bring me back to life?" Mekura waited inventively for an answer.

Sango then explained what Naraku had done with her brother. She told him about how Naraku revived him after death and utilized his skills to attempt and kill Inuyasha and the others. Mekura understood completely, he knew that he was only a pawn in Naraku's ultimate plan.

"One thing bothers me though…" Inuyasha faced Mekura and resumed, "Why aren't you with them? I can't figure why they'd bring you back to life only to let you wander into the wastelands."

Mekura sat silently and tried to remember what could have happened that night. He thought deeply about the vague voices that echoed continually in his head. With a quiet gasp, it came back to him. He remembered two voices, one of them was female, and the other was a male. Both of them had the stench of demons, but only one was familiar.

He turned his attention back at Sango and Inuyasha, "Yesterday night, I remember being in darkness, the silence was unbearable. I couldn't move or talk, I was alone with my own thoughts, and then I heard a female voice. It was the demon you call Kagura, I heard her say something. She said…dance of the dead." Mekura thought about what happened next, "I could barely make out what they were saying, but almost immediately I felt my heart begin to beat."

"Take your time." whispered Sango. The female demon slayer knew that reliving what happened had to be painful.

"I knew that Kagura and Naraku were responsible for you being alive again!" shouted Inuyasha.

"The male demon, Naraku, buried two tiny sharp objects deep into my heart. I felt my heart beat faster, for some reason I couldn't break free of their control. And then, when I heard Naraku mention what he wanted me to do, by instinct I made a fist and put it through his skull." Mekura wiped the sweat from his forehead and resumed, "The female fled and left me alone. I could hear the constant voice of Naraku telling me to submit to his will, but I overpowered his demonic influence and began walking aimlessly."

Inuyasha found it hard to believe that Mekura was able to break free of Naraku's control. If Mekura were indeed telling the truth, Naraku and Kagura would be out looking for him. Naraku would never let someone make a fool of him and escape with two shards of the shikkon jewel. Sango and Inuyasha both excused themselves for a minute and walked outside to talk privately. "Sango, I know how you must feel right now, but you know as well as I do that Mekura isn't supposed to be here right now." Inuyasha had no other way to tell her what he thought, "I don't want to sound like a cold hearted bastard, but Mekura isn't meant to be alive."

"We can't just turn our back on him, he did after all break free of Naraku's control. Its fate that brought him back to us." Sango couldn't bear to lose Mekura again.

Just as they were both about to go back inside, Mekura had been behind them the whole time, "I don't want to be a burden to the two of you. Sango, I have one thing to ask of you, do you know where my sword is?"

"Yes, I've had it ever since you di…" Sango stopped herself, she didn't want to repeat that dreadful word anymore, "Y-Yes, here…" she grabbed the sword from her side and handed it to Mekura.

"Wait! What the hell are you planning to do?" asked Inuyasha in a loud voice. "I hope you don't plan on taking on Naraku and Kagura alone. Those two jewel shards are safer inside your heart then in Naraku's hands." Even though he didn't want to admit it, Inuyasha couldn't let Mekura walk to his death.

"You need to rest, you were through a lot yesterday. I don't know if you remember, but you killed three demons by yourself". Sango grabbed Mekura by the hand, "I can't bear to lose you, not today. We'll set off to find Naraku and Kagura with you in a few days. Today, I just want to cherish this time with you."

Inuyasha felt awkward hearing Sango spill her heart out and walked away quietly. Mekura felt a strange feeling come over him as Sango held his hand tightly. She smiled and looked at his face, his eyes were a pale gray, his look revealed no true emotions. The two of them began walking and left the safety of the small village. They entered the tranquil forest and made their way towards a small creak. Mekura felt at peace as he walked with Sango, he hated the fact that most of his memories had not yet emerged. He smelled a familiar scent on Sango, it was the lotus flower, and the two of them sat down on the grass and listened to the water. Mekura was uncertain, but something about that flower was trying desperately to emerge from his repressed memories.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Return of the blind swordsman

By: EVL5011

E-Mail: Omnipotentevil5011yahoo.com

AN:

Chapter 3: Memories resurfaced

            Sango and Mekura both sat side by side, the female demon slayer couldn't take her eyes off the young man. His face remained unchanged and she so badly wanted him to smile. She contemplated on telling him about the note Miroku had found. Sango knew that Mekura might not recall exactly what happened on that sad day. Finally, after much deliberation, she took a deep breath and placed her hand on his. He turned his head and knew that something was on her mind.

            "Mekura, I have something I want to tell you." Sango felt that it would be best to tell him everything. The male demon slayer turned his full attention to her and listened, "I know that you don't remember a lot of things. I'm not even sure that you remember the situation when we first encountered each other. What I want to say is, I was drawn to you from the first day I met you."

            "Sango?" but before he could even reply she continued.

            "And I think that you felt the same way. I don't know if this will help you remember anything…here take this." Sango reached into a hidden pocket on her clothing and pulled out a white piece of paper that was covered with faint traces of blood.

            Mekura felt the paper, feeling its texture, in his hand detected the scent of a flower, "I-I remember…" Mekura felt a flood of smells, voices and feelings returning to him. "I remember that day, we were fighting hordes of demons. We stood victories, and that bitch Kagura reanimated my fallen comrades. We repelled their attack…and I was wounded on the side, by a spear. I fell to my knees and remember you and Inuyasha calling my name, but suddenly everything went silent."

            "I didn't speak to anyone after that day." Sango replied. "I didn't even want to see them bury you." Sango noticed Mekura's expression change into that of fear, "What's wrong?"

            "I remember something else after I died…" he felt an overwhelming feeling of terror and fear consuming his very essence, "it was so quiet…it seemed like an eternity. After a while I could begin to hear faint voices. They cried out, they sounded as if they were in agony…it was like the nightmare I had earlier."

            "But that was only a nightmare." Replied Sango.

            "No, it wasn't. I had awoken in hell, and just like my nightmare the sounds and feelings were all too real. I feel as if I'm caught in between these two worlds." Mekura stood up and felt his heart beating faster than ever. The sheer thought of returning to that "world" was unbearable to think of.

            "Don't say that! I can't stand the thought of losing you again!" Sango stood up and hugged Mekura tightly. Her tears ran down her face and fell softly on the green grass. "Lets just make the best of the time we have together. Forget about Naraku, he doesn't know where you're at. As long as you're with us, nothing can separate us ever again." The two young demon slayers began to walk back to the village. They had both agreed that Naraku's demise could wait a few days. They wanted to let their relationship flourish.

            A few days later, Mekura and Sango were both up early. The two shared a passionate kiss, after getting up, and walked towards the forest. Sango and Mekura were both honing in their fighting skills, Sango would throw her boomerang at Mekura and he would easily leap into the air and avoid the massive weapon. They would practice the entire day, and Inuyasha and Miroku would follow closely behind them and watch. That same day as Mekura was teaching Sango how to fight blindfolded, Mekura suddenly collapsed. Inuyasha and Miroku both ran out from their hiding spot to help Sango wake him.

            "You little piece of insignificant shit! I don't know how you managed to escape from me again, but this time I'll inflict a pain so terrible that you'll wish you had never killed me!" shouted a loud voice. Mekura moved his head and slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself able to see again. The snarling Hell-Spawn Lizard stood in front of him, holding a sharp knife in its scaly hand.

            Mekura began to breath more rapidly and noticed his arms and legs were shackled once more, "Nooooooo! Not this hell again!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

            "Oh, yes! This hell again! I'm glad that you came back. Now, where did we last leave off, before you so rudely disappeared on me?" the large demon scratched his head and smiled. "Now I remember! I was doing this!" The demon thrust the knife violently into Mekura's stomach and took immense pleasure in tearing out one of his vital organs. The demon held in his large hand Mekura's kidney. The Hell-Spawn Lizard examined the organ and frowned, "Shit! This isn't what I was looking for, lets try that again!" the demon threw the knife away and dug his fingers deep into Mekura's chest. The lizard grabbed onto Mekura's chest bone and tore open his chest, the blood poured out from like water from his body.

            Mekura gave out a loud cry and looked down at his revealed organs. His heart steadily beat and the foul demon gave a most sinister smile. The demon appeared to be enjoying what he was doing and ran his sharp nail down Mekura's exposed flesh. Mekura felt the pain too intense, and wished for some means of escape. Suddenly, he could hear a faint voice echoing in his head. The Hell-Spawn Lizard appeared to have heard it too, and began looking for the unknown person.

            "Who is that? I recognize that voice. It's the voice of that female bitch, the one that was with you when I died." The lizard looked around and became enraged when he couldn't find the source of the voice.

            It then dawned on him what was happening, "Now I understand how you keep disappearing on me…" The large demon began to fade away and Mekura watched as everything turned dark.

"MEKURA! WAKE UP!" shouted Sango. Mekura opened his eyes and heard the voices of Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha.

             The second Mekura opened his eyes something strange happened. He could see a strange white light. He rubbed his eyes and found that he had brought something back with him, his sight. Sango and the others noticed that Mekura was acting strange, from their point of view it looked like Mekura was examining the room.

            "Hey! Mekura you all right?" asked Inuyasha in a loud and annoying voice.

            Mekura looked at Inuyasha, he recognized the voice, but was strangely surprise to finally see his face. Mekura then turned his attention to a monk that appeared "lecherous" in his opinion. Finally, he stopped short of breath as he looked at the most beautiful female that he had laid eyes on (remember Mekura lost his sight in battle, he wasn't blind all of his life). He gave Sango a long unblinking look and said, "Sango? Is that you?"

            Unsure of what was going on Sango replied, "Yes, don't you recognize my scent or voice? Are you okay? You're acting real strange, what just happened?"

            With a sudden smile, Mekura hugged Sango tightly, "I can see!" he blurted out. Everyone in the room was shocked.

            "What! How? When the hell did this happen?" shouted Inuyasha. The hanyou separated the two and looked into Mekura's eyes, "They look the same to me."

            Mekura explained his horrible nightmare, and told them that he believed the experience was so excruciatingly painful that he must've kept his sight due to the shock. Inuyasha and the others found it hard to believe, but they had seen stranger things happen in the past.

            "Mekura? You said that you had that nightmare again?" asked Sango in a low tone.

            Mekura lowered his head and responded, "Yeah, I don't think that it's a nightmare after all. I hadn't slept in since you and I talked. You know, about what happened the day I died, I was extremely tired today and the constant practicing caused me to collapse. The fatigue was unbearable, I suddenly found myself in that World again."

            "What world?" asked Miroku, who suddenly found the account intriguing.

            "It was hell." Mekura replied.

            "I think I know why you keep falling into that world." Miroku sat down on the floor and began to explain what he thought was happening. "Since Naraku and Kagura couldn't control you, I believe that without them manipulating you, you'll constantly lapse back into the underworld every time you fall asleep. Maybe without them, you're stuck in between our two worlds. The world of the living and the world of the dead."

            "If that's what's happening, I have to finish what Naraku and Kagura started." Mekura stood up and took a good long look at the faces of his friends. "Sango, I'm sorry, but I wasn't meant for this world."

            Before Sango could even respond, Inuyasha grabbed Mekura and pulled him back, "Wait! What the hell did I tell you before? You still have two shards in your heart. I'm not going to let you walk to your death. You'll wait a few more days, at least until Kagome gets here. Then we'll all go together, as much as I hate to say this…we'll go as a team."

            Mekura nodded his head in approval and sat back down. The next few days would be hell for him, literally! With a few more days to wait, Mekura made wanted to make use of his time and spent it with Sango.

            Sango moved over next to Inuyasha and whispered, "Thanks", into his ear. She now had a few more days to spend with Mekura. Inuyasha mumbled a vague "you're welcome." And left the room with Miroku, leaving Sango alone with Mekura. Inuyasha and Miroku both began to walk into the forest, and Inuyasha glanced quickly at the small house. Even without his keen senses, he knew what was going to happen between the two demon slayers.

            Mekura stared deep into Sango's beautiful brown eyes, and drew her closer to him. He began to kiss her long neck, and gently smelled the intoxicating scent on her body. Sango felt her worries fade away, as Mekura ran his fingers through her long hair. The two were soon locked in each others loving embrace and found themselves in bed. They both caressed each other, as two people in love would, and slowly began to undress. Mekura and Sango spent that day together. Both of them expressed their desires and made passionate love that day. They were no longer friends anymore. They both shared a special bond with each other, a bond that could never be taken away from them.

            Later that evening, Naraku waited patiently for Kagura. The evil hanyou was extremely angered. The thought of losing two of his jewel shards was hard for him to accept, especially the part when Mekura put his fist through his puppets head. Naraku watched as the door in front of him opened and Kagura stood before him. She appeared to be concerned, mainly for her part in losing the jewel shards.

            "What news do you have for me?" Naraku asked. His eyes remained focused on Kagura as she nervously spoke.

            "I couldn't find him, but I did find out where he was." She replied. "When he escaped from us, he headed into the wastelands. I found three dead demons, other creatures in that area told me that he had killed them single handily. They also told me that a hanyou dressed in red and a female demon slayer had found him and carried him out."

            "So, Inuyasha and Sango got to him first? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" shouted Naraku

            Kagura felt tense as Naraku cursed at her and threatened her life. She moved back, in fear that he would strike her down and spoke, "I'll find him. If he's with Inuyasha and the others it won't be long before they start searching for us."

            Naraku stood up and turned around, he held back his urge to kill Kagura for failing, and remained silent for a minute. "Kagura I'm giving you one chance. I want you to retrieve my jewel shards or Mekura. I don't care what you have to do, but get it done." Kagura agreed and was about to leave the room when he said something else, "Kagura if you fail me…just pray that you don't."

            Kagura gulped and quickly left the room, unknown even to her, the Hell-Spawn Lizard was pleading with the rulers of the underworld to send him back. The enormous lizard demon wanted to personally drag Mekura back to hell. The rulers of the underworld agreed, on one condition. They stated that if he fails, he would take Mekura's place in hell and be tormented for all of eternity. The rulers of the underworld disappeared and granted the Hell-Spawn Lizard his wish. But, before he was sent back a black shadow appeared before him.

            "Get out of my way you little worm!" shouted the lizard demon. The black shadow remained unfazed by the hulking demons' threat and drew closer to him.

A distorted voice began to speak, it was the shapeless shadow, "There is one thing that you should know before you leave. If Mekura kills you, he will ascend to the heavens, we will lose his soul. We cannot accept that, I strongly urge that you do not fail. We can't lose a soul as powerful as his." The ominous shadow faded away into thin air. The large Hell-Spawn Lizard disregarded the warning and awaited as a large flaming portal opened in front of him. The large demon entered the portal and was taken back to the world of the living.

With all the pieces in play, Mekura and the others would have to fight hard if they wanted to come out victorious. They had Kagura to deal with, what could she be planning? And, they had the Hell-Spawn Lizard resurrected. Both of the two threats would eventually find Mekura and the others, fate was a fickle bitch that night. Everything would fall into place in less than a week.


	4. chapter 4

Title: Return of the blind swordsman

By: EVL5011

E-mail: Omnipotentevil5011yahoo.com

Chapter 4:

Three more days have passed, Kagome arrived unexpectedly at the village and was told about the sudden resurrection of Mekura. Kagome got reacquainted with the formerly blind demon slayer and saw the two small jewel shards lodged deep within his heart. Inuyasha and the others now knew where Naraku placed them. To remove them from Mekura would be a sudden death. Now known to Kagome was the new found relationship between Sango and Mekura. All was quite at the village, but some distance away…

Moving through the shadows, the sadistic Hell-Spawn Demon was stalking an unsuspecting girl as she carried a large bag of grains. The lizard demon swiftly moved across the small wooded area and remained perfectly still, as the young girl stopped upon hearing a branch snap.

"Hello? Is someone there?" she asked. The young girl had no idea as to the danger that she was in. She looked around and continued about her business, the young girl was mere feet away from exiting the forest, when he stopped her dead where she stood.

The large lizard picked her up from the ground, causing her to scream and drop her bag. The Hell-Spawn Lizard hadn't stalked anyone since his demise at the hands of Inuyasha, Mekura, and Sango. He covered her mouth with his enormous hand and looked her in the eyes. His mouth opened and his long tongue licked her across the face. He smiled and disappeared deep into the forest with his catch. The demon entered a small cave and released his prey. He quickly grabbed a large boulder and sealed off the entrance. He turned around watched as she looked for a means of escape.

"It's useless to look for a way out, I blocked the only way out. So stay put and I'll kill you fast and painless." The demon walked over to a large sword that was thrust into the stonewall and pulled it out. He stared at the young girl and killed her in one merciless clean swipe. Her blood splattered all over the wall. The Hell-Spawn Lizard tore the remains of the young girl into pieces and devoured her. The foul demon had killed his first human since dying. As he chewed on her warm flesh, a black shadow materialized in front of him. The same shadow from the underworld.

"Why isn't Mekura dead yet?" asked the black shadow.

"He's not going anywhere! I know exactly where he is, but I do need something else." Asked the Hell-Spawn Lizard.

The black shadow appeared to be angered by another request. Two bright red eyes became visible from the shadow as it answered, "What do you want now?"

Almost reluctant the demon replied, "My sword, I need it."

"Is that all?" asked the black shadow.

"Ye-yes." The black shadow slowly dematerialized and left a large sword behind. The blade was engulfed in a bright flame. The Hell-Spawn Lizard picked up the sword and smiled gleefully. "Now that I've fed, tomorrow you die!"

Meanwhile a few miles away, Kagura went back to the desolate demon slayer village (Mekura's village), only to find a large group of thieves and murderers. The groups of men were looting all the valuables from the now empty village. Kagura casually approached the fearsome men. Her smile remained hidden behind her fan as did her true intentions. The men stopped what they were doing and gawked at her beauty.

One of the looters approached her with a dagger in hand, "Well, look at what we have here boys." He smiled ever so confidently. "I guess this is our lucky day! Not only did we find a deserted village filled with gold, but we also find a young girl. You do know what happens next right?"

Kagura nodded her head and the young looter grabbed onto the exquisite silk on her kimono and was about to pull it off, when his eyes froze. All the other looters looked on with great curiosity and watched as he turned around. A massive hole had been punched into his chest. Kagura had fatally injured him and he fell face first onto the ground. All of the looters unsheathed whatever weapons they had and began to advance on her.

"She killed him! Lets kill her!" They all surrounded her and Kagura just laughed, they had no idea on what she was capable of. Kagura moved the fan from her face and attacked the men with a volley of magic. The men were all killed in a matter of seconds. Kagura didn't even break a sweat, almost immediately she commanded them to stand back up. The wind sorceress had what she wanted, a small army of mindless puppets.

"Pathetic humans, so frail and foolish." Kagura ordered her new mindless warriors to follow her. She knew where to find Mekura, if she remembered correctly, he was in love with a certain demon slayer.

Back at Lady Kaede's village, Sango and Mekura both exited the small hut that they had slept in and made their way to the nearby river. Mekura tied a black cloth across his eyes, he was still used to fighting blind, and the two began to practice. They spent most of the morning sharpening their techniques. Every once in a while they would both share a passionate and lay on the grass side by side. Just as the two demon slayers lay on the grass, Kagome came out from the forest and greeted them with a smile.

"Inuyasha tells me that you two have been coming down here every day." Kagome sat down besides them and noticed the two holding hands. "So, Sango can I talk to you alone?" Sango smiled and stood up. She and Kagome both excused themselves and walked into the distance.

"What did you want to talk about?" asked Sango.

"I don't want to be nosey or anything, but are you and Mekura…you know." Kagome looked over Sango's shoulder, making sure that no one was listening in on their conversation.

Sango blushed at hearing Kagome's question and looked down at the ground, her reaction was an answer all by itself. Kagome and Sango both began to talk and from the looks of it, they weren't going to finish anytime soon.

Mekura looked over at the two girls and felt the presence of someone hiding amongst the trees behind him. "I may be blindfolded, but I know you're there." He stood up and faced in the direction where he believed someone was. Inuyasha moved out from behind a tree and walked towards Mekura.

"How did you know I was there? And why the hell are you wearing a blindfold? I thought that you had regained your eyesight." asked Inuyasha in his usual tone.

"You forget that my senses that are shaper than yours and I fight better that way. My senses seem to balance out when I use my eyes." Replied Mekura as he looked at Kagome and Sango, both who were laughing and talking. "It seems that I have no one to practice with, would you like to practice with me?"

Inuyasha snickered at the thought of practicing with a human, "Feh, you gotta be kidding me?" Inuyasha waited for Mekura to say something, but found that he was serious. "Alright, but just so that you don't day I didn't warn you. I'm not going to hold back!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Replied Mekura. The demon slayer adjusted his blindfold and tightened it.

Inuyasha and Mekura both took a fighting stance and unsheathed their swords. Mekura's black onyx sword and tetsusaiga reflected the sun from their edges. The two dashed at one another, their swords clashed against one another. Kagome and Sango stopped talking at the sound of the two swords colliding. Inuyasha was astounded by the strength that Mekura's sword possessed, most weapons would've shattered upon impact. The two moved in unison and appeared to be reading the others moves. Inuyasha was actually amazed by Mekura's skill, the demon slayer moved with fluid grace and would become a blur in some instances.

"You're not getting tired are you?" asked Mekura in a joking voice.

"Shut up and fight!" Inuyasha was becoming agitated that he couldn't best a human. He leapt into the air and landed behind Mekura. The demon slayer blocked an attack from behind and turned his blade. The edge of the katana sword shined the bright light directly into his eyes, blinding him momentarily. When Inuyasha focused his eyes, he found Mekura's sword touching the side of his neck.

"You're dead." Mekura sheathed his sword and removed his blindfold, quickly putting it away underneath his shirt. "Good match." He smiled and walked towards Sango, who couldn't believe what she had just seen.

Kagome approached Inuyasha, who was frozen, "I can't believe that he beat you." She placed her hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Come on Inuyasha! Lets go back to the village." Kagome walked back to the village, leaving Inuyasha.

"I can't believe what just happened." He thought. Inuyasha looked around and noticed that everyone had gone back to the village. "I wasn't even holding back…I gave it my best and he beat me." Inuyasha sheathed tetsusaiga and walked back to the small village humbled.

It was mid-evening and everyone ate some of the ramen noodles that Kagome had brought. They ate their food outside, the gentle evening breeze was a great comfort to them. Sango and Mekura sat closely together, they both looked into the others eyes and had their moment interrupted by Inuyasha.

"I think I'm going to lose my appetite!" Inuyasha set down his bowl of noodles and left. He was still pissed off that he had lost to Mekura. And, to make it worse Kagome and Sango both were witness to his loss.

"What's bothering him?" Kagome looked back as Inuyasha stormed away, the hanyou could be heard mumbling profanities. Kagome picked up the bowls off the ground and followed behind Inuyasha, leaving Mekura, Sango, Shippo and Miroku.

"What was that all about?" asked Shippo, who had been silent during the entire time.

"I'm not sure." Replied Miroku. The monk hadn't been informed about what happened. Miroku sighed and decided it best that he follow Kagome. Since Inuyasha was prone to his sudden outbursts of anger. "Come on Shippo, let's make sure that Inuyasha doesn't say anything foolish." The two of them stood up and left, leaving Sango and Mekura alone.

"Inuyasha is certainly a strange person." Remarked Mekura.

"Why do you say that?" asked Sango.

"He's obviously in love with Kagome, but I sense that something is stopping him from revealing his feelings to her." Mekura stood up and extended his hand out, he helped Sango off the ground. They both made their way back towards the small hut and closed the door behind them. The two demon slayers sat down on a small bed and gazed into each other's eyes. They felt their carnal desires begin to consume them once again, but before they acted upon those feelings said something else that had been on his mind.

"The nightmares have stopped." He looked concerned. The otherworldly hell had been a heavy weight on his shoulder, but they suddenly stopped.

"That's good, why didn't you tell me before?" asked Sango who was overjoyed.

"Because I don't know what to make of it. I can finally sleep sound at night, so I took it as a blessing at first. But, what if its an omen of something worse?" he replied.

"As long as you can sleep, that's all that matters to me. I don't want to lose you again, I never want you to leave my side." Sango hugged Mekura with her loving embrace and kissed him.

"Before I met you I had no purpose in life, other than killing demons. I was miserable, I expressed no emotions. I'm happy to have someone in my life, you complete me. The pains of the underworld were nothing compared to losing you." Mekura fell back onto the bed and forgot about his troubles.

Sango removed Mekura's shirt and began kissing his chest, the scars from countless battles gone, by Naraku's magic. Mekura undressed Sango and ran his hands down her sides, he picked off the ground and she wrapped her slender legs around his waist. They both pressed their bodies against each other and submitted to their desires. Mekura gently rocked his hip and Sango trembled in his loving embrace. His strong arms easily held her during the heat of the moment. Mekura carried Sango over to the small bed, Sango looked deep into his eyes and climaxed. They both spent the night together once more, as they have for the past few nights, both unknowing to what lay in store for them in the morning.


	5. chapter 5

Title: Return of the blind swordsman

By: EVL5011

E-Mail: Omnipotentevil5011yahoo.com

AN: So, how were my last two chapters? I'm still new to the whole romance thing. Most readers know that I mainly write excessive violence and action. In conclusion, write to me and make suggestions or just send me comments.

Chapter 5: No rest for the weary

Mekura and Sango both woke up at the same time, as they normally would, they headed out towards the peaceful river. They commenced, their now routine, sword practicing and fighting. Mekura would tie a black blindfold around his head, covering his eyes and easily dodged all of Sango's attacks. After about an hour of this, Sango would put the blindfold on and take lessons. She was a quick study and would occasionally catch Mekura off guard, making him happy. Their peaceful day would be abruptly interrupted by a loud voice.

"I knew that you'd be with that wench!" shouted a loud and familiar voice. Mekura stopped and looked around.

"That voice, its not possible!" Mekura clutched the handle of his sword tightly and ordered Sango to get the others. Mekura stopped her for a second and asked her for the blindfold. He tied the black cloth over his forehead and made sure that the demon didn't follow her. She ran off into the forest, even though she wanted to stay and help him, and made her way towards the village.

"It is possible, you little piece of human excrement!" laughed the voice. To Mekura's surprise, the demon that he had sent to hell was back. The evil demon was intent on killing Mekura and sending his soul back to the underworld.

"I don't know what you did or who you pleaded with to come back here, but rest assured that I will kill you. I'll cut you into so many pieces that it'll be years before anyone in the underworld will ever put you back together." Mekura gritted his teeth in anger and held his katana proudly in the air.

"Brave words from a dead man, but before will begin…" the Hell-Spawn Lizard revealed his favorite weapon and thrust it into the earth. An invisible barrier was erected, surrounding them, keeping anyone from interrupting their match, "Bring it on little man!"

Mekura ran at his opponent and began to slice the torso of the evil demon. It appeared that the skin of the demon had gotten tougher. His blade couldn't even scratch the beasts' scaly body. The Hell-Spawn Lizard laughed mockingly as Mekura unleashed a fury of attacks. The Hell-Spawn lizard swung his sword and cut Mekura across the chest. The large wound burned, causing Mekura to stumble backwards. The lizard grabbed Mekura by the throat brought him close to his face. The demon smiled, revealing all of his sharp teeth, and the thick saliva dripped down off of every individual tooth.

"It seems that this is the end for you." Smirked the demon.

Mekura struggled to break the demons strong grip by slashing away at its arm, but found his that his current situation was sapping all of his strength. Just as everything looked bleak, the demon threw Mekura towards the invisible barrier, knocking the wind out of him. Inuyasha and the others were attempting to break through the magical barrier.

"It seems that your friends have come to help you once more. I see that young demon slayer, the one that was with you a few minutes ago. I'm going to enjoy chewing on her bones, but first I have to savor tearing you limb from limb." The lizard demon turned around and found Mekura wearing a black blindfold. "Oh, you don't want to see me kill you, that's fine with me." The Hell-Spawn Lizard pulled his flaming sword from the ground and taunted Mekura with it, waving it around.

"It seems that some things just don't change…" Mekura held his sword and began circling around the enormous demon.

"What is that?" asked the demon.

"You still have a big mouth!" Mekura smiled and listened to the demons heart beat as it began to pound furiously.

"Enough talk! You die now!" Before the demon lunged forward, Mekura turned the blade ever so slightly causing the bright sun to reflect off of it. The demon became blinded by the bright light and stopped for a brief second. The Hell-Spawn Lizard opened his eyes and noticed something different about Mekura. He had his sword sheathed in its black scabbard.

"You first…" Mekura turned around and removed the blindfold from his eyes. The Hell-Spawn Lizard appeared confused at first and raised his sword high in the air. That's when he knew what had happened. Blood began to seep from dozens of small cuts, the demon moved his arm and watched in shock as his arms fell clean off. The demon fell apart before everyone's very eyes, the lizard looked like a large bloody jigsaw puzzle coming undone. Mekura had sliced through the tender spots on the lizards' body.

"What just happened?" asked Inuyasha. He only saw the bright light, the rest happened so fast that no one had time to see Mekura move.

"From the looks of it, he just killed that demon." Replied Kagome. Inuyasha and the others moved back as the invisible barrier disappeared. They all began walking towards the dead demon and were simply amazed at the well-placed cuts that killed it.

Sango jumped over whatever remained of the Hell-Spawn Lizard and ran over to Mekura, "I'm at a loss for words. I've never seen anything like that, how was that even possible?"

Mekura was about to explain, when the ground began to shake. Large cracks formed around the slain demon and everyone moved away. Fire shoot out from beneath the earth and black smoke darkened the blue sky. An ominous shadow hovered over the dead demon and what appeared to be an arm reached out, touching the pile of flesh. A sudden cry could be heard coming from the dead demon, its very essence rose from its former shell and looked for a means of escape.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha unsheathed tetsusaiga. He was baffled by what was going on. The spiritual essence of the demon pleaded with Inuyasha and the others to help it. But, its pleas fell on deaf ears as the black shadow swallowed it whole and faded away.

"Was that what I think it was?" asked Sango.

Mekura nodded his head and told them what it was, "That was a underworld specter. I'm guessing that the lizard demon made some kind of deal with them and failed. I had never thought that such a creature existed, that is until I died. When the Hell-Spawn Lizard was tormenting me, after he gave me back my sight, I could've sworn that I saw something in the corner of my eye."

After seeing that strange sight Inuyasha and the others went back to the village. All Inuyasha and the others talked about was how Mekura killed the demon. They believed that the worse was over, but it was far from it.

At that very moment, Kagura and her newly acquired puppets were traveling in towards Lady Kaede's village. The wind sorceress was a few hours away from finding Mekura and the others, but as fate would have it her journey would be stopped momentarily. A black shadow materialized before her, it was the same specter that took the lizard demons soul.

Kagura watched cautiously as the dark shadow fully materialized before her, she did not fear it, and its bright red eyes appeared. "You are Kagura the wind sorceress if we are not mistaken?" asked the black shadow.

Kagura raised her fan over her face and prepared to kill the unknown being, but was curious as to how this creature knew her. "Yes, how do you know my name?" she asked in return.

"We know all that there is to know about you and your oppressor, Naraku. We know that he possesses your very essence, your soul. He forces you to do his bidding, are we correct?" asked the voice.

Intrigued, Kagura lowered her fan, "You are correct once again. You would not have made your presence known if there wasn't a reason, right?" she asked.

"You are very intuitive young sorceress. We have a favor to ask of you, if you are interested. We can easily persuade a half demon like Naraku to release you." The black shadow suddenly grew darker than it was and blackened even the earth beneath it.

Kagura thought long and hard about the interesting offer, one thing bothered her though. "Your offer sounds very generous, but I know nothing about you, yet you know so much about me." Kagura patiently awaited an answer from the dark being. She could hear dozens of voices speaking at once from within the black shadow.

"We are one, yet we are many. We come from the deepest bowels of the underworld. We are known only as Akujin." It replied.

"Well, now that I know your name, what is this favor?" she asked with great curiosity.

"We seek the demise of a human named Mekura, he was resurrected by you and your arrogant master. And there is a second person that would make a great addition to our realm, you know him very well. He is a hanyou named Inuyasha. We want both of their souls!" Akujin's tone suddenly changed upon mentioning both names.

Kagura felt the opportunity to good to pass up, but what of Naraku? And what was this sudden interest in Inuyasha and a human? "I'll agree on certain conditions, Naraku watches my every move. He might already know about us talking."

The black specter began to laugh, it sounded like a dozen demons laughing in unison, "From the second we appeared before you, we shrouded this place from him. He cannot see through our magic, he is weak, even with his precious jewel shards." The black shadow drew closer to Kagura and a cold chill went through her spine. "What are you other conditions?" it asked.

"I want to know why you want Inuyasha and Mekura. When I kill them how will you retrieve their souls?" she asked.

The Akujin gave off a loud growl and its eyes burst into two small flames, literally. "Upon their demise, we shall take their souls back to the underworld. And we owe you no explanation as to why we want their souls." From within the black Akujin, a large arm materialized. It was hideously scarred and covered in blood. "Then it is agreed?" asked the Akujin.

Kagura reached out and reluctantly shook the large hand before her, "Yes, I'll fulfill my part, if you give me my freedom afterwards." She felt a dark disturbing sensation as she grabbed the Akujin's hand and sealed the deal.

"Remember this though, if you fail…the day you cease to exist on this mortal plain. We will make your eternal stay in the underworld most unpleasant. Before we leave, we want you to have this…" The Akujin's arm disappeared, and on the blackened earth materialized a strange metallic orb.

Kagura knelt down and picked up the metal orb, "What is this for?" she asked.

"Have you puppets gather around it, those lifeless shells will fuse into one powerful creature, it will obey your commands, your strength and magic alone will not defeat Inuyasha and Mekura." The dozens of voices from within the Akujin could be heard laughing and screaming all at once, before finally disappearing.

Kagura was unsure on what she had just gotten her self into. The wind sorceress figured that her freedom was worth it. The thought of no longer being under Naraku's control was far to tempting to pass up. She examined the highly polished orb and ordered her dead minions to gather around it. Kagura dropped the orb on the ground and walked a good distance away. The metallic orb began to magically hover off the ground and exploded, the shockwave tore the dead into pieces. Their limbs and organs were scattered all over the ground, suddenly the chunks of flesh began to float into the air. The various limbs and pieces of flesh fuse together into a large mass of flesh and blood.

Kagura could only watch as the mass began to spin, finally forming a hideous abomination. It was tall human male with long brown hair. He had one single eye, which was blue as the sky. His body was horribly disfigured, a section of his head was missing, and a large chunk of his upper torso was gone too, revealing broken ribs and his hanging intestines. It turned in her direction, "I am at your disposal…" it muttered while breathing deeply.

With extreme caution, Kagura approached her new toy, "That's good to hear, what's you name?" she asked. She felt disgusted to have such a mangled creature standing in front of her.

"I am Mangala…" it replied while breathing heavily.

Kagura smiled and noticed a rather large weapon strapped on its back, "Mangala, what is that peculiar weapon on your back?" she asked.

Mangala's long arm reached for the weapon, the lower part of his arm had no flesh, and presented it to Kagura. She examined the weapon and heard faint cries coming from it. The weapon was a black sword, heavily decorated with crimson red jewels. She looked at Mangala and asked, "Tell me Mangala, after seeing you. How do you expect to fight with one arm and one eye?" she asked in a mocking tone. "You're some kind of joke right?"

Mangala frowned in anger, "Don't let my unholy appearance fool you, if you wish to waste more time, I suggest we waste it searching for your enemies."

"Fine, we shall she how you fare against Inuyasha and Mekura." She replied. Kagura took the lead and Mangala followed. They both disappeared into the large forest and continued walking towards the small village.


	6. chapter 6

Chapter 6: Failures

            Back at the village, Inuyasha was speaking with Mekura, "I still don't understand how you could move that fast. You're human aren't you, because that seemed impossible" Inuyasha was still amazed by how fast Mekura killed the Hell-Spawn Lizard.

            "If you like, I'll teach you." Replied Mekura with a smile on his face.

            "No, I don't need pointers from a human." Inuyasha quickly tried to change the subject, but Mekura was disappointed by Inuyasha's response.

            "Inuyasha, don't be stupid! I know as well as you do, that you're having trouble using that sword of yours" Mekura was uncertain, but he still remembered that Inuyasha was having trouble wielding tetsusaiga.

            "I said no!" Inuyasha stormed away, angered by Mekura's persistence. "Like I'm going to take lessons from a human." Inuyasha mumbled to himself.

            Mekura was disappointed by Inuyasha's arrogance. Standing a few feet away from him was Kagome and Sango; they had both overheard the whole conversation.

            "Don't worry too much about Inuyasha, that's just the way he is. He doesn't like to admit when he needs help from someone. There's also a good chance that he's still bitter from losing to you." Replied Kagome.

            Mekura thought about what Kagome told him and went after Inuyasha. He wanted to talk to him and find exactly what was bothering him. Mekura ran throughout the entire village searching for Inuyasha, but couldn't find him. Mekura stopped for a second and pulled out his black blindfold from his pocket. He covered his eyes with it and immediately his other senses took over, he smelled Inuyasha's distinct scent in the air and followed it. He finally came to a halt, a good distance away from the village, at a large tree. Inuyasha was resting on a large tree limb. Mekura removed his blindfold and called out Inuyasha's name.

            Inuyasha looked down and reluctantly jumped down, "What?" he asked in a loud tone.

            "Listen Inuyasha, do you have some kind of problem with what happened the other day? Because never in my life have I met a person with such issues." Asked Mekura.

            Before Inuyasha could even answer, a strong scent in the air caught his attention. "Shut up for a minute!" Inuyasha began sniffing the air and looked around, "Do you smell that?" he asked.

            Mekura closed his eyes and immediately smelled a strange scent in the air, "Yes, I do. It smells like…death." Mekura listened carefully and could hear the faint sound of someone approaching, "I hear two people in the distance, we should investigate. I have a bad feeling about this." Mekura opened his eyes, both of them headed towards the source of the sound.

            Mekura and Inuyasha ran through the forest and both leapt into the air instinctively. A large group of trees were cut down all around them. Someone narrowly killed them with a powerful attack. They both landed on the ground and searched for the invisible attacker.   
            "It's that female demon…" Mekura unsheathed his sword and listened for movement.

            "Kagura, show yourself!" shouted Inuyasha. The wind sorceress stepped out from behind the trees and made her presence known.

            "I thought I'd never find you two, but it seems that my new friend has some remarkable abilities after all." She laughed.

            "So, there is someone else with you. I can still hear them breathing loudly, who is it? Another one of Naraku's reincarnations?" asked Inuyasha.        

            "No, he's not. His sole purpose is to kill you and Mekura. It seems that a demon from the underworld has great interest in both of you." She replied. "Mangala, show yourself." From behind the shadows stepped out Mangala, with his long sword in hand.

            "What wretched creature is that?" asked Mekura.

            "You couldn't find a better looking puppet to fight us?" asked Inuyasha, mocking Kagura's so-called friend.

            "Its time for you to prove yourself Mangala." Kagura stepped back into the shadows and disappeared. She would watch the battle from a safe distance and only intervene if Mangala was defeated.

            Inuyasha and Mekura were both cautious as they circled around Mangala. They had a feeling that they were up against something strong. Inuyasha made the first move as he unsheathed tetsusaiga, and took a swing at Mangala. His attack missed, Mangala ducked down and countered, and was cut across the back.

            "Kuso! He's quick!" Inuyasha stumbled backwards and noticed that his back was drenched in blood. "I guess he's not one Kagura's mindless puppets after all."

            Inuyasha and Mekura both attacked Mangala simultaneously, only to have their attacks blocked. The one armed enemy was extremely fast and highly intelligent, Mangala's looks were definitely deceiving. Mekura whispered a quick strategy to Inuyasha, and he nodded his head in agreement. Mekura would attack first and Inuyasha would have a split second to cut him down. Mangala remained still and looked at his two opponents, waiting for one of them to make a move.

            "NOW!" Mekura ran forward and swung his razor sharp katana at Mangala, only to have it blocked. Inuyasha shadowed Mekura and swung tetsusaiga at Mangala's midsection, severing his torso.

            They both moved back as Mangala slowly moved backwards, its body began to bleed profusely from the large cut, but strangely enough his torso refused fall off. As they watched something weird began to happen, the thick blood dripping on the ground appeared to move. Mangala's blood crawled onto his leg and reentered the large laceration. The fatal wound healed itself.

            "You got to be kidding me?" Inuyasha attacked Mangala once more, before he would fully heal himself. Using his sharp claws, Inuyasha plunged his hand deep into Mangala's chest and felt his hand exit through the back. "I can't pull my hand out…" he thought, some strange force was holding Inuyasha's hand in.

            Mekura knew that something was wrong and struck Mangala across the back. The sharp sword easily sliced through Mangala's dead flesh, but appeared unfazed by the attack. Seeing the situation they were in, Mekura placed his sword back in its scabbard and tried to pull Inuyasha's hand out.

            Mangala smiled as he raised his bloody sword in the air, Mekura grabbed Mangala's fleshless wrist and held on to it. Finally, Inuyasha managed to pull his hand out. They knew that Mangala had to have a weakness, but fighting him by themselves wouldn't be the wisest choice. They both pushed the bloody human back and retreated; they would need the help of Sango, Miroku and Kagome.  

            They both ran out of the forest and headed into the village, without looking back. They looked for the others and explained the situation. Mekura and Inuyasha knew that they would have to keep Mangala as far away as possible from the village, one of them would have to lead it towards the river. That would be the best place to engage it, but who would do it?

            "I'll do it." Inuyasha felt that he was more than capable of the responsibility.

            "No, I'll do it. You go with the others." Ordered Mekura.

            "Why the hell not?" asked Inuyasha. The others could only watch as the two of them argued.

            "I can name a list of reasons why you shouldn't. The main reason is you'll probably try to fight it alone." Mekura pushed Inuyasha aside and walked back into the forest.

            "I guess he settled that argument." Laughed Miroku.

            "Shut up!" Inuyasha began walking towards the river and the others followed.

            Meanwhile, back in the forest, Mekura attacked Mangala in hopes of angering it. Mangala hissed at the relentless attacks by Mekura and ran after him. Mangala cut down countless trees in hopes of killing Mekura. The two of them were a short distance away from exiting the forest. Mekura ran as fast as he could and avoided the onslaught of attacks, he was a few yards away from the exit, when something pierced him on the back. He slowed down and reached for his back, he felt something warm soaking through his shirt. He examined his hand and found it covered in blood.

            He finally exited the forest and collapsed in front of the others, Kagome and Sango dragged him to safety and saw the wound on his back. Before they could do anything to help him, the trees in front of them were cut down. Mangala appeared surprised to find himself outnumbered one to four, it would have been five, Mangala held his sword and gave out a loud battle cry.

            "What is that thing?" asked Miroku, who found Mangala's appearance sickening.

            "D-Don't let its appearance fool you…" Mekura muttered, the demon slayer had stood back up and was ready to fight.

            "Mekura, you're hurt let us deal with that thing." Pleaded Sango.

            "You four can't do it alone, you need my help." Mekura searched for his blindfold and covered his eyes once more. "Lets get this over with."

            The five of them launched a massive attack on Mangala, Sango threw her boomerang, Kagome shot countless arrows at it, Miroku, Inuyasha and Mekura waited for the right time before jumping into action. Kagome's countless arrows hit Mangala, but didn't appear to cause it any harm. Sango's boomerang would cut through Mangala's body, but he would immediately heal. Miroku, Inuyasha and Mekura began pounding Mangala with a series of blows and attacks, but none of their attacks seemed to harm it.

            Kagome looked closely at Mangala and saw a faint light where its heart was, "What is that?" she wondered. "Is that a shikkon jewel shard? No, its glow is far different." She shouted from where she stood and let the others know of what she saw.

            "That's what I felt…" Inuyasha thrust his fist into Mangala's chest once more. He moved his hand around inside of Mangala's torso and felt something metallic inside. "Miroku…Mekura, hold him down!"

            Both unsure of what Inuyasha was doing, they did as he said and pinned Mangala down. They found that Mangala was far stronger than he appeared. It took both Miroku and Mekura to hold down the single arm of Mangala. Mekura grabbed his sword and plunged it into Mangala's throat, keeping him from moving around.   

            "Got it!" Inuyasha grabbed on tightly to the mysterious item and pulled it out with all of his might. Mangala's single eye widened, he remained still and stopped struggling with Mekura and Miroku. Mangala's body became limp, the seemingly invincible creature melted into a thick puddle of flesh and blood. The smell of rotted flesh weighed heavily in the air.

            "What is that thing?" asked Kagome.

            Inuyasha examined the metallic orb, upon further examination, and he found faint writing etched into it. "I don't recognize this language, do any of you know what this says?"

            Miroku took the orb and couldn't make sense of it and neither could anyone else. Just as he was going to hand it back to Inuyasha, he dropped it on the ground. The metal orb gave out a powerful pulse, they all moved away from the orb and watched as it sank into the ground.

            "I'm getting the feeling that Naraku couldn't have created something like that." Kagome moved behind Inuyasha, her protector.

            A black spot appeared on the ground and an abnormal howling could be heard coming from within. The earth began to shake and the black spot became a vortex, the howling became louder as the vortex grew bigger. The howls were soon replaced by the cries of unseen people, they cried out in pain. What did they just do? They wondered. As they moved away from the vortex, Kagura came out from the forest. She was shocked to see Mangala defeated, but mainly curious to what was happening. Mangala's remains were pulled into the vortex, leaving nothing behind.

            Almost abruptly, the cries became silent, but were replaced by something else, "Kagura…you have failed us." The wind sorceress trembled upon hearing the voice and moved away, she attempted to flee, but felt some supernatural force keeping her there.

            "We are gravely disappointed Kagura…" A black shadow emerged from the spiraling vortex. It shape was continually changing with every move that it made, the one thing that gave it a certain form, were its bright red eyes. The black shadow had its sight fixed on a paralyzed Kagura. Inuyasha and the others wanted to do something, but they didn't know what they would be up against.

            "I didn't fail, look there they both are." She cried. Inuyasha and the others could feel her overwhelming fear from across the vortex.

            "YOU FAILED US!" shouted the specter, it seemed liked countless voices were coming from within the black shadow. The black specter lunged at Kagura and passed right through her body. She screamed in terror as it entered her body and exited through her back. The shadow turned and spoke, it ominous voice echoed, "For now you are safe, but the day you die…pray…the pain Naraku inflicts on you is nothing compared to what we can do." The black specter sank into the ground and disappeared along with the vortex.

            Kagura's skin was pale, her eyes revealed a fear that no one had ever seen before. What had Inuyasha and the others just seen? A tear ran down the wind sorceresses' cheek as she pulled a small feather from her hair and fled the area.

            "Doesn't that injury hurt?" asked Kagome.

            "No, not anymore." Mekura replied.

"It was the same black specter from before." Miroku looked at Mekura in hopes of receiving some sort of answer.

"I know…" Mekura whispered something into Sango's ear. "We'll be back if a few hours." Mekura and Sango both began walking together. He gave no explanation to where they where going, they headed in the opposite direction of the village.

            "Where are they both going?" asked Kagome.

            "I'm not sure, but did you see the look on his face when that black thing appeared?" asked Inuyasha. "Let's not worry to much about them, Mekura is more than capable of defending himself."

            It was still early in the evening, and Inuyasha, Kagome and Miroku both headed back to the village. They explained what they saw to Lady Kaede, she was intrigued by the black specter, and she rummaged through countless scrolls. She found one particular scroll, which gave explicit details on demons, demigods and other creatures from legends.

            "What you three saw today had to be the Akujin, it exists only in the realm of the underworld. It is the most evil creature in all of my scrolls, its gives powers in exchange for a persons soul." Lady Kaede explained.

            "If that thing was the Akujin, what the hell was it doing here?" Inuyasha asked in his usual manner.

            "That is what I don't know." She replied. "Maybe the Akujin is seeking Mekura? The Akujin did recently appear after his sudden resurrection, did it not?"

            "If that thing is really after Mekura, he's most likely in danger." Miroku said in a concerned voice.

            "Should we go look for him?" asked Kagome.

            "No, he'll be back. I don't think that Sango would've gone with him if they weren't coming back." Inuyasha tucked his arms into his sleeves and figured it best to wait. How long could they be gone anyways?


	7. chapter 7

AN: Hopefully, the plot has thickened enough to grasp every ones attention. Any questions that you may have about the series of events, feel free to write to me, really!

-Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible – it can not be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could. By Barbara De Angelis

Chapter 7: One last night together

A thick fog had mysteriously covered the entire land, seeing your hand in front of your face was near to impossible. Mekura and Sango had finally arrived at the abandoned demon slayer village. He entered one of the small houses, which had many valuables scattered all over the floor, once inside he opened a secret panel on the wall. Inside were dozens of scrolls, Mekura looked through all of them, and found the one he was seeking.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" asked Sango. She approached Mekura and wrapped her arms around him.

"Yes, I did, and I wish what this scroll contained was nothing more than a false a prophecy." He tore a small piece from it before crumpling the old scroll into a ball and throwing it on the ground.

"What was written inside?" asked Sango who was now worried. She released Mekura and bent down picking up the old scroll. Sango read the writing inside and found that everything that had happened to Inuyasha, Mekura, her and the others was written inside with explicit detail. The scroll told of a plot by a powerful god of the underworld. The god was called the Akujin, and it wanted to rule over man. The scroll also explained on how Mekura, her and Inuyasha would stop it, but the old text said nothing more about Miroku or Kagome.

"Now you know…" replied Mekura. The male demon slayer sat down on the ground and held in his hand a small piece of the scroll. What the torn piece of paper contained was unknown, only he knew what was written inside.

"Is this all going to happen soon?" asked Sango.

"Its already begun, the wheels of fate are in motion now. There is nothing we can do to stop it, we can only play our roles." Mekura hid the small piece of paper inside of his clothing, keeping it from Sango.

"Did you know that a small section is missing?"

Mekura nodded his head and strongly suggested that they both get back to Lady Kaede's village.

At that very moment, deep in the bowels of the underworld, a loud roar echoed throughout the endless hell. The sound was coming from a black creature, which began to speak loudly. It was calling forth a large army of demons and creatures. There were countless demons in every shape and size. After the large army had gathered the black specter began laughing maniacally.

"My legion of minions…the time has come. We will rule the world of the living." The black specters' eyes became a bright red. A flame appeared behind the black creature and opened, it was the portal to the world of the living. The army of demons smiled and began marching towards it, one by one they lined up in front of it. The black specter was in fact the Akujin. A long arm materialized from its black shroud, it waved its arm conjuring its evil powers. An enormous vortex opened up on the scorched ground, what was its purpose one would wonder. In a day the massive army would begin appearing in the mortal world.

Back at the village, Mekura explained what he knew about the ancient prophecy. No one at the village could believe that all this was going to happen, but they would receive the first sign in a matter of seconds. A loud thunder exploded outside, it shook the very ground that they stood on. Inuyasha and the others ran outside, the night sky was a fiery red, and a long stream of light could be seen in the distance.

"That is the first sign of things to come." Mekura turned to Sango his expression was grim.

"Well, what are we standing around for? Lets get going, we can't let them take over." Inuyasha fixed his sight on the beam of light. He wasn't going to stand by idly while demons from the underworld ravaged mankind.

"I don't want to be the harbinger of bad news, but we can't all go. Miroku and Kagome can't come with us. If they do come with us, they can't follow us into the underworld. They can stay outside and keep any demons or creatures from escaping into our world." Mekura faced the two friends and explained to them that they would have no role in what was going to happen.

"What? They have to come with us. We can't do it without them!" Inuyasha blurted.

"I'm sorry, but if they do come, I can't say what will happen to them. Fate has other things planned for them." Explained Mekura. "We have a one full day, before they materialize in our world. That beam of spiraling light is just a marker, that's where we have to go tomorrow. Make whatever preparations you feel necessary Inuyasha. Come day break we go straight to the source."

"Why don't we go now? I got everything I need right here." Inuyasha replied while clutching the handle of tetsusaiga.

"Because tomorrow is when the portal to the underworld opens. That's when we have to enter it. Our battle is in the darkest recesses of the underworld." Mekura replied. He then approached Inuyasha and whispered to him, "Take the time to tell Kagome about how you feel about her. You might not get the chance if the prophecy is wrong."

Inuyasha sighed loudly and walked away with Kagome, he apologized for his behavior and anything that he could've said in the past to hurt her. One thing he wouldn't say though, were the three words that she wanted to hear, "I love you".

Miroku disappeared, he would meditate and pray for a good outcome, and he would remain inside of his small house for the entire day. Mekura and Sango however, entered her small house and sat down together. Mekura placed his sword on a small chest and took Sango's hand.

"Sango, I'm glad that I got to share my life with you. I'm happy to have met you, I wish that this moment would never end, but it will." Mekura placed his other hand on Sango's cheek and looked her in the eyes.

"Why are you talking like that? What's going to happen to you?" she asked.

"Its nothing that I'm not prepared to do. If anything happens to me, I want you to promise me one thing. I want you to live your life to the fullest." Mekura smiled and hugged Sango, as if it was the last time they would ever be together. "Lets just cherish this moment…" he whispered.

Mekura held Sango tightly and started to kiss her silky neck. He ran his hand down every curve on her body and began to undress her. Sango gave in to her desires and began removing his finely woven black shirt. After a matter of seconds the two demon slayers were completely undressed. They both stared lovingly into each other's eyes as they made their way over to Sango's bed. She positioned herself on top of him and slowly began to rock back and forth, their two bodies joining as one. The room was silent, except for the sound of their breathing and short gasps. Sango quickened her slow rocking and felt a pleasurable sensation overwhelming her as she began to climax. Sango dismounted, and rested her head against his chest. The sound of his steadily beating heart slowly put her to sleep.

Mekura lay there quietly with Sango on top of him. He contemplated what he had to do in the morning, "If only I could tell you about what I had to do, but if I did. I'm sure that you would try and stop me." He thought to himself. Mekura placed his arms around Sango and kissed her forehead gently. Mekura closed his eyes and fell asleep shortly after, relishing what would be their last night together.

AN: that concludes this chapter. I hope that you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I strongly believe that the next chapter will be the last. I leave you with another famous quotation that I think you'll all like.

-To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else. By Bernadette Devlin


	8. chapter 8

Chapter 8: The god of the underworld, and the void.

            It was morning and Mekura had already been up for more than an hour. He gently called Sango's name, waking her from her peaceful sleep, she opened her eyes to find Mekura fully dressed. He had laid out all of Sango's clothing next to her along with her sword. Mekura turned and exited the small house. He slowly walked over to Lady Kaede's home to wake Kagome. Shortly afterwards he would find Miroku already awake that only left Inuyasha. He made his way over to the tree where Inuyasha normally fell asleep in, and woke him. The five of them had breakfast and left the village when they were done.

            They traveled across the quiet land, everything seemed peaceful, even the thick fog had vanished. If they didn't know any better, it would seem that everything was normal. They traveled for five hours straight. It would only be a matter of minutes before they arrived at their destination.

            "We're almost there." Mekura stopped for a brief second, he examined his surroundings and made sure that everyone had their weapons ready.

            Kagome had her bow and countless arrows, Miroku brought various talismans and spells, Inuyasha only had tetsusaiga, Sango her boomerang and katana, and Mekura carried with him the two items that he would only need, his black onyx katana and his blindfold.

            They continued walking and finally came upon a ghastly site; it was a large flaming gate. Skulls decorated the entire stone entrance, which rested in the middle of a large field. The gate to the underworld looked out of place in such a beautiful and serene area.

            "Inuyasha…Sango, are you both ready to enter?" Mekura asked. They nodded their heads and stared confidently at the large gate. "Miroku, Kagome, make sure that no creatures or demons escape from the underworld. A single demon could wreak havoc all over the land, destroy them at all costs."

            Miroku placed his hand on Mekura's shoulder and handed him a small piece of paper and smiled, "Take this…just in case you find yourself in a desperate situation." Mekura took the neatly folded piece of paper and tucked it underneath his shirt, along with another piece of paper that he had been holding on to.

"Lets get going…" Inuyasha said before Mekura stopped him from entering the gate.

            "There is one last thing you two should know before going in with me. Once we set foot in the underworld, we're going to be completely surrounded by a near infinite amount of demons. I'm not even sure that it's going to be possible to kill any of them. If one of you two have any doubts, now is the time to turn back." Mekura placed his hand on his katana and looked at both Sango and Inuyasha.

            "We've come this far…there's no point in turning back now!" smirked Inuyasha.

            "And you Sango?" asked Mekura.

            "I can't turn my back on you, I still haven't repaid you for saving my life." Replied Sango.

            "Well, then…lets go." Mekura leapt into the gate and disappeared. Sango and Inuyasha both followed and were carried through a long tunnel. Finally, the three of them emerged on the other side of the gate.

            They stood before a massive army of demons, all wielding some form of weapon. At first the demons appeared confused by their appearance, and then it dawned on them. They were facing the enemy. Dozens of demons began running towards them, raising their battle weapons high in the air.

            "I tell you one thing Mekura…you were right. There are a lot of demons down here and I'm pretty sure that I sent most of them down here!" laughed Inuyasha.

            The three of them began hacking away at the large demons and pressed forward. They were outnumbered, but with their fighting skills and perseverance, they wouldn't falter so easily. Countless demons were cut down in a matter of minutes, as soon as the large beasts fell they would slowly pick themselves up and begin to heal.

            Sango and Inuyasha ran through the rows of demons slicing as many as they could. It would get to a point where they would have to stop for a second to wipe the blood from their faces. Mekura stopped and turned back, he severed the head off an attacking demon and waited for Inuyasha and Sango to catch up. The two of them darted through the sea of demons and finally caught up with Mekura.

            Inuyasha preformed his "iron reaver, soul stealer" attack and shredded ten demons into little pieces. He looked at Mekura and asked, "There's one thing you haven't told us Mekura…" Inuyasha began to say, "…what or who are we looking for?"

            "We're looking for the demon responsible for opening the gate." He replied.

            Just then Sango placed her sword back into its scabbard and grabbed her boomerang from her back. She threw the large weapon with such great force that it left a ripple trailing behind it. The large boomerang cut down dozens of pursuing demons in half. "Do you know what demon that is?" asked Sango as she caught the returning weapon.

            "Not really, but I have a strong feeling that its that specter we've seen before." He replied. "I have a hunch that IT will find us first, it's just a matter of when. Lets get going, I have a feeling that we should journey towards that strange sound in the distance." Mekura pointed into the distance. A strange black energy could be seen, it appeared to spiral and howl quietly.

            They resumed running, but only this time they had some idea on where to head. They dodged numerous demons of all shapes and sizes. Each one of them would hack off a limb or head, in hopes that the demon wouldn't get up so quickly. As they approached their destination, the howling grew louder and more intense. The demons in that particular area appeared to be larger and more ferocious than the ones by the gate.

            Meanwhile, back in the mortal world, Kagome and Miroku stood guard by the gate to the underworld. The unholy gate began to shake, the flames surrounding it shot straight into the sky, shadows of many creatures could be seen from within. The gate began to moan and wail. It seemed as if it wanted to dispel what was inside of it. Suddenly, five demons emerged from the fiery gate. They held spiked maces in their enormous hands, and fixed their sights on Miroku and Kagome.

            "Mekura was right, it was a good thing that we stayed out here." Remarked Kagome. She grabbed an arrow and took aim. Kagome released the first arrow and successfully struck the demon in the middle of its head. The arrow engulfed its body in its pure energy, causing the beast to explode into ash. The four remaining demons roared in anger as their companion disappeared, they simultaneously charged at Kagome and Miroku.

            "Get behind me Kagome!" shouted Miroku as he moved in front of Kagome. He removed his prayer beads from the palm of his hand and unleashed the fury of the wind tunnel. The four demons tried in vain to escape the strong currents, but were sucked into the void.

            Just as they about to sit down for a second to rest, more shadows could be seen moving about from within the gate. Two gray specters shot out from the gate and looked at both Kagome and Miroku. The two evil specters gave out a blood-curdling laugh as they drew closer to them.

            "I hope that they're not in there to long…" whispered Kagome as she stood back up, aiming her bow at one of the two specters.

            Back at the underworld, Inuyasha split a demon that looked like a chimera in two. Sango fended off three serpent-like demons, she hacked their heads clean off and watched as they melted into a puddle of green slime. Mekura had placed his blindfold on and was currently engaging five demons, which appeared to like ox. It seemed like a losing battle, as they killed countless demons and monsters. Just as they were beginning to tire the horde of demons stopped, each demon moved back and retreated into the shadows.

            "That's not a good sign…" Inuyasha looked around and noticed that only they remained. A few yards away, was the source of the black energy. The three of them cautiously walked and found themselves at a large spiraling vortex in the ground. Inuyasha approached the vortex and watched as a few small stones fell inside, disappearing mysteriously.

            "What do you make of that?" asked Inuyasha. He moved away from the vortex and turned to Sango and Mekura. "You hear me?" he asked. Inuyasha noticed that they were both staring at something. He looked forward and saw the black specter a few feet away from them.

            "…" The specter made a strange sound as it hovered in front of them, "…that is the void…" The specter flew over them and floated over the black void, "…nothing that goes in…ever comes out." It said in a wailing voice. "It will be your final resting place…" it laughed.

            Mekura walked closer towards the black void and spoke to the black specter, "Are you the one who has opened the gate?"

            A pair of bright red eyes appeared from within the black specter as Mekura spoke to it, "…yes, and if you three want to close it…you will have to destroy me, but I should warn you…I am invincible. Even if you manage to destroy me you three will be trapped down here forever!" cackled the black specter.

            "No creature is invincible, everything has a weakness!" shouted Mekura.

            "Come down here and show us what you're made of!" added Inuyasha.

            "I am the Akujin and I shall consume your pathetic souls!" The Akujin flew at them with great speed and landed behind them.

            Inuyasha, Mekura and Sango attacked the Akujin with everything they had, but the black specter dodged all of their attacks with the greatest of ease. It maneuvered around them, slashing them with its invisible claws. This continued for two minutes and our three heroes were losing a lot of blood. The Akujin continually cut them across the back and stomachs, spilling their blood on the black ground.

            "There has to be a weakness to this foul creature…" wondered Mekura. He clutched a wound across his chest and felt something beneath his shirt. He reached inside and found the mysterious paper that Miroku had given him. He opened it quickly and smiled, he held in his hand just what he needed.

            "Inuyasha, Sango get its attention. I know how to hurt that son of a bitch!" Mekura held the paper securely in his hand and waited as Inuyasha and Sango drew the Akujin's attention. The black specter cut Inuyasha across the chest, knocking him down. Just as it was in reach of Sango, Mekura jumped towards the Akujin. He placed the small piece of paper on the Akujin and rolled backwards.

            "Arrrgggghhhhh…" The Akujin began to wail and cry out, its agonizing cries echoed. It thrashed about and its black shroud began to fade away into the air. Its hideous form was finally revealed, it was a mass of flesh. It had numerous eyes covering its body, bone and muscle were exposed, and it had no real flesh covering its body.

            "What did you do to it?" asked Sango.

            Mekura smiled and told her what he had placed on the Akujin, it was a powerful spell given to him by Miroku. The spell wouldn't kill the Akujin, but it would make it vulnerable to their attacks.

            "Lets not waste anymore time then, lets kill the damn thing!" shouted Inuyasha. The three of them ran at the weakened Akujin and began repaying it. They hacked and slashed at its horrific body, its thick yellow blood splattered all over the ground. The Akujin flailed its puny arms in an effort to protect itself. Mekura sliced its two arms clean off with one single swipe, the Akujin began to cry out in pain as it was being battered. Sango thrust her sword into the Akujin's frail throat and pulled the sword out, the demon began stumbling backwards. It didn't know that it was being lead towards the black vortex.

            Inuyasha wiped the foul smelling blood from his face and swung tetsusaiga. The Akujin's head came clean off, a steady stream of blood sprayed high into the air, before Mekura delivered one final blow. He raised his beautifully crafted sword above the headless Akujin and split the demon down the middle. Its revolting body fell backwards and was sucked in by the spiraling vortex. Mekura sheathed his sword and bent down, picking up the Akujin's head.

            The head of the Akujin blurted out various profanities and curses as thick blood poured from its neck and mouth, "…y-you shall never leave my realm…its only a matter of minutes…before the gate closes…trapping you here forever…" The numerous eyes on the Akujin's head rolled back as it spoke its dying words. Mekura threw the head into the center of the vortex, where it would disappear, never to be seen again.

            "Lets get out of here! Inuyasha placed tetsusaiga back in its scabbard. The three of them began to run towards the gate unopposed. The ground began to shake and the small flames on the ground grew higher. As they ran, Inuyasha looked back and found a swarm of demons pursuing them. Alas, there was no time to battle and their time was growing short.   

AN: Cliffhanger!


End file.
